I have a dry, itchy scalp on a normal basis, which is exacerbated when I’m pregnant. I have tried a lot of different organic & natural formulas which help, but often contain ingredients that strip color from my hair or irritate my skin further — tea tree oil irritates my skin, and many natural shampoos contain citrus oils, which strip.

Earlier this summer, I asked Jessica, from NaturOli, whether their soap nut shampoo worked well with color. Jessica responded with an emphatic “Yes”, and sent me a bottle to try. I hope she doesn’t mind me saying, but she is a red head (one of the fastest fading hair colors & difficult to maintain), and said that soap nut shampoo works really well with her red color.

Jessica warned me that the shampoo would take a little getting used to, as a.) no sulfates means little to no suds, and b.) my hair would likely take a week to detox and be a little wonky. Before I talk about how great this shampoo is, I’d like to share the ingredient list with you:– Sapindus Mukorossi Aqueous Extract– Aloe barbadensis Gel– Vegetable Glycerin– Lauryl Glucoside– Saponified Olea europaea Oil (Olive Oil Soap)– Panax Ginseng Extract– Japanese Green Tea– Olea europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract– Nasturtium officinale (Water Cress) Extract– Hibiscus Leaf Extract– Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil– Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract– Olea europaea (Olive) Oil– Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba (Guar) Gum– dl-Panthenol (Provitamin B5)– Citric acidNothing scary, right? All of those chemicals, fragrances and dyes are what likely cause the annoying (and sometimes embarrassing) scalp irritation I have on a regular basis. When I’m pregnant? Forget it – my scalp is an absolute mess. Thankfully, I’ve found a product I can trust to help my scalp and bring it back to normal: NaturOli’s Extreme Soap Nut Shampoo.

I’ve got to tell you, I noticed results after my first use. I have curly hair that I often straighten. When I straighten my hair it gets really dry (blow dry w/ a ceramic brush and then finish with a straightening iron), so I’ll skip a day of washing my hair. By the evening of the second day, I just have to wash my hair, so I’ll do a quick wash without putting conditioner in it. For some reason, I view skipping the conditioner and product as giving my hair a break (plus, I’ll be washing it again in the morning). Typically, my hair will be insanely frizzy (no shampoo+no product=scary hair). However, the first time I used NaturOli shampoo, my hair was not super frizzy afterwards.

NaturOli’s Extreme Soap Nut Shampoodid take a little getting used to. I love that the shampoo looks as clean, clear, and natural as it really is. But, I didn’t create a soapy lather full of bubbles, while washing my hair – it was a little like rubbing conditioner into my hair and waiting for it to lather. Once used to that (and mentally convincing myself that my hair was, indeed, getting clean) I realized that less really is more with soap nut shampoo. I do have short hair, but I really don’t have to use a lot to get my hair clean. After a couple of washings, I noticed that my hair was looking shinier (rather than dull), and had a bit more body. I’m assuming that these were the effects of detoxing and getting rid of buildup.

I’m two months into using soap nut shampoo and my scalp is doing great! No irritation, no super dryness. I highly recommend giving NaturOli Soap Nuts Shampoo a try if you are prone to dryness or sensitive scalp issues. The shampoo comes in two different formulas: Dry to Normal (this is what I use) and Oily to Normal. What about my color? Despite the shampoo having citric acid in it, I’ve noticed that my hair color hasn’t faded as fast as it usually does. Win-win!

NaturOli is offering my readers a special coupon code to try Extreme Soap Nut Shampoo at 10% off! This coupon runs from now until midnight 8/7. Only one code per order. To redeem, enter the code at the bottom of the shopping cart where it says, “Redeem a discount coupon,” then click “submit”:

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[…] written about my irritating sensitive scalp a few times, sharing with you my favorite natural shampoo and how I use natural hair styling products to help keep my itches at-bay; unfortunately, these […]

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Lauren B. Stevens is a former publishing rep-turned-writer, whose work can be found on ChildVantage, The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy and Care.com, among many other websites. When she's not chasing her precocious preschooler, Lauren pens hilarious and heartwarming stories about her life as a mother, ghostwrites blogs for businesses, and sometimes even finds the time to write a bit of creative non-fiction.
Look for Lauren's published essays in the books listed below: